Former champ Emanuel Newton taking fight outside Bellator MMA
Former Bellator light heavyweight champion Emanuel Newton (25-10) has had his shares of ups and downs. “The Hardcore Kid” was on top of the world after stringing together seven consecutive wins to include two over top Bellator MMA contender “King Mo” Muhammed Lawal and a hard fought title defense against Linton Vassell.
Newton then lost his championship title via a unanimous decision to current champion Liam McGeary at Bellator 134: British Invasion and has been struggling ever since. While still every bit as dangerous and motivated as he always has been, Newton has faced beasts in the division that can be considered among the top in the world. He lost via submission to Phil Davis at Bellator 142 and then a rematch to Vassell just last month.
Now, Newton seeks to right his ship as he fights outside the organization. When MyMMANews.com reached out to Bellator officials to see whether or not the former champion had been released from the organization they assured us that this was not the case at all. On occasion fighters are permitted to fight outside the organization to allow them to clear their heads and seek out a win in a smaller organization.
The Fight Night Medicine Hat event is promoted by ZPromotions and will be held at the Canalta Centre, Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada.
Newton will serve as the co-main event against Matt Baker, while the main event will feature Ultimate Fighter contender, Cody McKenzie (15-8) taking on Ryan Machan.
FIVE TITLE FIGHTS
Cody McKenzie vs. Ryan Machan
Emanuel Newton vs. Matt Baker
Emillio Chavez vs. Andrian Vilaca
Rick Genaille vs. Chad Sutherland
Adam Dyczka vs. Jared Henderson
Antonio McKee vs. Marcelo Mafra
Joe Merritt vs. Jonathan Meunier
Jo Vallee vs. Markhaile Wedderburn
Bendy Casmir vs. Josh Hill
Todd Stoute vs. Strahinja Gavrilovic
Tickets are on-sale now at Ticketmaster.ca, charge-by-phone 1 (855) 985-5000 or in-person at the Canalta Centre Box Office.
You can order the April 9th pay-per-view on pay-per-view through Go Fight Live here.
